The MerryGoRound of Death

1
The Merry-Go-Round of Death
2
Presented By VERTIGO!

• Eunbyul Cho
• Bahea Khouri
• Mike Thomas
• Joshua Trautman
• Christina Panicker

3
Purpose

• Exploring the changes of centripetal acceleration
  on an object placed at different radii on a disk
  that is rotating at a constant rate.
• Definitions
• Disk merry-go-round
• Centripetal Acceleration the change in
  velocity that keeps the object on a circular path
  

4
Hypothesis

• The farther the object is from the center of
  rotation, the smaller the centripetal
  acceleration observed.
• OR Larger radius smaller Ac

5
R 76 cm
6
Acceleration in Z-axis
1
2
3
7
Acceleration in Y-axis
1
2
3
8
Acceleration in X-axis
1
2
3
9
Testing of Hypothesis Larger radius smaller
Ac

• Trial 1 (r76 cm)
• Ac 8.55 m/s/s
• Trial 2 (r44 cm)
• Ac 4.90 m/s/s
• Trial 3 (r4 cm)
• Ac 4.23 m/s/s

• !!!

10
Lingering Question
???

• AcV2

r
Assuming the above equation to be correct, why
would the centripetal acceleration increase as
the radius increases?
11
Calculations and Conclusion

• Ac V2 V rotations x 2pr
• r t
  
• Ac (rot. x 2pr) / t 2
• r
• Ac (rot)2 (2p)2 r2
• t2 .
• r
• Ac (rot)2 (2p)2r
• t2

An increase in radius contributes to an increase
in centripetal acceleration